Registration is now open for the 15th Annual WW BikeFest on Saturday, May 26, 2018, at West Windsor Community Park coordinated by the West Windsor Recreation Dept. The event includes several ride distance options for the entire family including: 1.5, 7, 11, 20 & 40 miles. Discounted pre-registration by May 11 includes an event t-shirt. Onsite registration is also available.
Post ride party includes lunch and DJ entertainment.
Rain Date Sunday, May 27, 2018. Hope to see you there.
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Come to Community Park on Saturday, when West Windsor will be honored during the BikeFest festivities for being New Jersey?s first bicycle-friendly community.
Jen Laurita will present the award on behalf of the League of American Bicyclists, a national non-profit organization that honored West Windsor with a bronze medal in September. BikeFest is one of the many reasons that the community was selected. Other criteria include educational events (such as BikeFest?s Bike Rodeo to teach good biking skills), infrastructure (the many bike lanes that have been added over the years) and government policies.
The award will be given around noon, after riders are back from their rides (anywhere from 1 ? miles to 40 miles) and grabbing lunch and just as the DJ gets going and the kids take over the moon bounce and giant slide.
Stick around to applaud West Windsor! You also have a chance to win one of 10 $25 gift certificates from Halter?s Cycles on Router 1 in South Brunswick.
Not signed up for BikeFest? You can register here or on Saturday at Community Park. (Rain date is Sunday.) Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.
May is National Bike Month, and the week of May 13 is Bike to Work Week. A number of events are planned in West Windsor and neighboring communities; one (or more) is sure to be right for you. We’ve also included a few for walkers. (Note that not all events listed below are organized by the WWBPA)
May 5:West Windsor Walks to the opening day of the farmers’ market. Join us at 8:50 a.m. in the parking lot at the back of Maurice Hawk Elementary school for a leisurely stroll of just over a mile. We’ll start walking at 9 a.m. and are?excited that the route this year will take us along some stretches of sidewalk that weren’t there last year. Kids will be challenged by a game of “I Spy.” People in wheelchairs and kids in strollers are welcome.
May 6: Bring your child (up to age 10) and bike to a free bike skills class at Plainsboro’s Founders Day. Princeton’s police department is sponsoring a separate bike skills class that includes a bike obstacle course on May 19; call 921-2100, ext. 1848 for details.
May 11-12: Adults aren’t being left out. This skills class, offered through the West Windsor Recreation Department, is for those who want to boost their confidence when riding on the road. Cost is $50, but the WWBPA will reimburse $25 of the cost for members. Plus we’ll cover the other $25 for the first five members who write a review of the class that we can use on our website.
May 12: Buy a bike at Bike Exchange in Ewing and get a free helmet from Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association. Learn more about this and other GMTMA events during National Bike Month here.
May 14-18: National Bike to Work Week. Register for a free T-shirt and a raffle with GMTMA.
May 15:Bikers Breakfast at the Princeton Junction train station, sponsored by the WWBPA and Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association, starting at 6 a.m. Grab a drink and a snack on us. Want a bike locker? We’ll tell you how to get one.
May 16: The WWBPA is supporting one of three area Ride of Silence events to honor cyclists killed or injured on the roads. Meet at 6:45 p.m. in the Municipal Center parking lot; the silent one-hour ride will leave at 7 p.m. We will have a West Windsor police escort and a funeral hearse courtesy of Mather Hodge. We suggest you wear a black armband and turn on your front and rear lights. We will stick together for the entire 10-12 mile route. Last year, more than 12,000 cyclists took part in events around the world.
May 19: Tour historic Trenton with the Trenton Cycling Revolution. More information about this 15-mile ride and registration at www.trentoncycling.org.
May 26: BikeFest, West Windsor’s bicycling extravaganza, with rides for people of all abilities, from 1.5 miles to 40 miles. Register at www.westwindsorbikefest.com. Say “hi” to the WWBPA after your ride!
June 16: The WWBPA holds a free “learn to bike” class for kids who want to get off training wheels at the West Windsor Farmers’ Market. Watch the video of last year’s class.Note: This is a members-only event.
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Claim your spot (and T-shirt) at BikeFest, West Windsor’s big one-day bike extravaganza!
The ninth annual BikeFest is set for May 26 (Saturday of Memorial Day weekend; rain date is Sunday) and includes the usual five route options, from the 1.5-mile loop within Community Park for young kids to the 40-mile route for experienced cyclists. Registration is open; just download the form and mail your check or drop it off at the West Windsor Recreation Department.
BikeFest includes a “bike rodeo” to help younger cyclists learn safe riding skills.
The WWBPA isn’t the organizer of BikeFest; that is Dan Gerstenhaber and his team. But many trustees and student advisors will be there as volunteers, and we’ll also have a table with plenty of materials. So stop for a chat after your ride.
The WWBPA had something for everyone in May. Where did you see us?
On May 7, we led our second annual walk to mark the start of the farmers’ market season. About 20 people, from grandparents to grandchildren, joined for a walk from Maurice Hawk School to the Farmers’ Market at the Vaughn Drive Parking Lot.? The first stop was at the Arts Center on Alexander Road where Greening of West Windsor (GroWW) was holding an Herb Sale to benefit the plantings at the Arts Center.? We observed the new sidewalk along Alexander Road from Scott Avenue to Wallace Road under construction, and noted that on next year’s walk we would use it.? Crossing Wallace at Alexander instead of at Scott is much safer because cars have a much greater sight line to the pedestrians.? We proceeded to the station, under the tracks, and along the pathway to the Farmers’ Market, where the WWBPA handed out maps and held a drawing for a T-shirt, a reflective vest, a set of lights, a set of ankle bands and a couple of Share the Road decals.
As part of National Bike to Work Week, we joined Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association for a chilly “bikers breakfast” at the station on May 17, offering food, drink and encouragement to cyclists and others. We hope some are ready to get back on a bike, even if not to get to work.
On May 21, we were back at the farmers’ market, teaching about 50 kids to ride bikes without training wheels, using a “balance first” method taught to us by Bike New York.
On May 28, we were at BikeFest, talking to participants about what we do and offering ideas on where to ride.
Our “Ride of Silence,” to honor cyclists killed or injured on the roads, was delayed by rain until June 1. We rode through West Windsor, led by a police car and funeral hearse. If you missed us, check out the photos.
Ride into the summer season with West Windsor?s eighth annual BikeFest on Saturday May 28, at West Windsor Community Park, just off Route 571.
This is an “event” ride for all riders of levels, with routes ranging from 1.5 miles inside the park to 40 miles around West Windsor. Registration includes lunch and a post-ride party with music, moon bounce and giant slide. Riders will be given cue sheets and maps, and there will be water stops along the routes.
For those who want to brush up on their bike skills, head over to the Bike Safety Rodeo between 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Register for? BikeFest online or on the day. Preregister by May 13 to receive a T-shirt and save $5.
The WWBPA’s annual meeting always includes a moment to honor individuals for their service to our community. This year’s award winners were:
George Fallat, Mercer County’s traffic engineer. George has been a big supporter of bicycle and pedestrian improvements on county roads. We can thank him for the wide shoulders on the repaved portions of Washington and Clarksville roads this past summer, the crosswalk at Avalon Watch, including the pedestrian refuge island, and support for Share the Road signs on county roads (paid for by the WWBPA and BikeFest and installed by the county), among other improvements. We also credit him with helping to facilitate the improvements at the intersection of Route 571/Princeton-Hightstown Road and Wallace and Cranbury roads. George has always been ready to listen to suggestions from the WWBPA and we look forward to working with him in the future.
Alex Drummond is West Windsor’s director of public works. His team has installed bike racks at the farmers’ market and racks and bike lockers at the train station. His crew also took down the lockers at the Howell bus station that were moved to West Windsor. None of these projects could have happened without some heavy lifting from the public works department. In addition, many share the road signs around town have been installed by public works. We can’t thank you enough for all of this.
Ken Jacobs is the head of West Windsor’s recreation department and one of the behind-the-scenes forces of BikeFest. This annual cycling extravaganza wouldn’t work as well without his help. His award was accepted on his behalf by Dan Gerstenhaber, the driving force behind BikeFest.
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Bicyclists of all ages and abilities attended the seventh annual?West Windsor BikeFest on Sunday, May 30 (postponed a day because of the weather) over Memorial Day weekend. The weather on Sunday couldn’t have been better! A bike rodeo helped to educate young riders about the rules of the road and safe riding practices.
BikeFest focuses on bringing awareness of safe cycling and enables families to experience bicycling at various skill levels. Participants discover that West Windsor has many roads that will accommodate all levels of cyclists.
BikeFest is run by a small committee led by Dan Gerstenhaber and supported by Ken Jacobs of the?West Windsor Division of Recreation and Parks. Local businesses support the event and many volunteers support registration, rest stops, sweeping, and feeding the event participants. Volunteers are always welcome. For more information go to?West Windsor BikeFest.
Funding from BikeFest
The BikeFest committee focuses on safe cycling in West Windsor; funds raised by the event are used to support designated community bicycling improvements. Along with the installation of bike racks in various parts of the township, the BikeFest committee has donated money to help with some of the WWBPA initiatives, most notably the printing of the WWBPA map, Share the Road signs, bicycle racks for theWest Windsor Community Farmers’ Market?and the soon-to-be-completed bicycle parking facilities at the Princeton Junction Train Station.
The WWBPA isn’t a sponsor of BikeFest but?thanks the BikeFest committee for its continued support for safer cycling in West Windsor.
Here are some rides to help you get ready for BikeFest:
Trenton Cycling Revolution, another area advocacy group, is helping with the annual 15-mile Trenton Bike Tour on May 22. One rider calls it “the coolest way to see the city.” The police-escorted ride starts at 8:30 a.m. at Cadwalader Park. Cost is $10.
And of course there is the local Ride of Silence after work on May 19.
Take the WWBPA’s challenge for the seventh annual BikeFest on May 29: Get a group together to make the day even more fun! Let’s see how many groups we can get and how big they can be. Plus,?share your BikeFest stories and photos on the WWBPA’s Facebook page.
Get in your application and join hundreds of others cycling on West Windsor streets.
Need a warm-up ride? Bike&Walk Montclair is co-hosting the eighth annual Tour de Montclair on May 16.
Monthly meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month via Zoom. We will eventually resume meeting in the West Windsor Municipal Building. Email us at [email protected] if you would like the Zoom code.
Find us at the West Windsor Farmers Market (Vaughn Drive parking lot) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every other Saturday from May through Halloween.
May is National Bike Month, and the week of May 13 is Bike to Work Week. A number of events are planned in West Windsor and neighboring communities; one (or more) is sure to be right for you. We’ve also included a few for walkers. (Note that not all events listed below are organized by the WWBPA)
May 16: The WWBPA is supporting one of three area 
Funding from BikeFest
The WWBPA isn’t a sponsor of BikeFest but?thanks the BikeFest committee for its continued support for safer cycling in West Windsor.
